The Free Republic of Texas 2015 (12 page)

About six months had passed, seeming like either 6 days or 6 years depending on the moment when we got a call from Jim Daniels the Sheriffs Deputy for this end of the county, it came about dark and he said he needed to speak to Jody and I as soon as possible but on the quiet, he was off duty and driving his own truck and we told him to head to the gun shop and act like a customer we would come in the back way and John would get us together.

We were both very curious about this call but there was no sense in talking it to death so we headed for the door when Jade jumped up and grabbed her coat announcing she was coming too, Jody smiled and said “your on your own…son” he’s a laugh a minute, I looked at her and decided that whatever concerned her father and husband concerned her too ( this was very smart fast thinking on my part but ruined the beautiful temper flair she had already to fire off at me) when we got outside I noticed Jody was sitting in the back seat of her jeep with nary a smile on his face, he’s smart too!

We arrived at the narrow trail we used to access the back of the mall area which was unknown to most people and entered thru the grocery store back door and down to the basement then thru the steel doors to the gun shop basement, I felt it was a bit James Bondish but we were trying to avoid trouble for Jim, when we go to the top of the stairs we stopped and tapped a button which caused a small buzzer to vibrate quietly behind the counter, we saw Jim and John laughing and talking while Jim looked over a new handgun, at the sound of the vibrator, he said something to Jim who nodded and John grabbed a box of ammo and headed for the door to the downstairs range, telling one of the guys that they needed to cover for him.

When they opened the door and entered John lead the way down and to the door marking the indoor shooting range for customers to get an opportunity to fire their choice of weapons, nobody had said a word and John motioned us into the sound proof observation room then taking the gun and ammo he headed into the shooters area, where he started slowly shooting rounds like a guy learning a new weapon.

We looked at Jim and he said boys yawl have attracted a lot of attention over at the County Seat, the Commissioners seem to think maybe yawl ain’t paying near enough in tax’s so they asked the Sheriff to try to come up with a way to get into all your business mostly to snoop into just what’s really going on here, but as yawl may not know, the Head Commissioners is the Sheriffs brother and between us, both are as crooked as a dogs hind leg and if they can find a soft spot they will be down on you like stink on a road killed skunk, but of course what they want is a nice piece of what you bringing in.

We thought about it a bit but Jade spoke right up and asked why Jim was telling us? Easy answer was , in a round about way he was kin to Miss Ellie ( no surprise there!) and so he talked to her and she sent him to us to spill the beans and then to resign from his job because no kin of hers was gonna work for then snakes no more.

Jade then asked one of those questions that usually come later in the movie, who else are they screwing? Jim said he only had a rumor or two but he named them, Jade wrote their names down. Then asked if he wanted to come work for us? He said no but thanks a lot, but I grew up wanting to be a Deputy and maybe someday be the head sheriff.

Jody and I had learned that when she was in this mode to let her run with it so said nothing, she found out he had 5 years in the department and was the youngest by 20 years, good ol boy network in action, she asked why he even got hired, Jim turned a bit red and said well they’s all too old to work the streets and saloons at night so they hired me as somebody to send in the door first.

We needed time to digest this and Jody said well if they find out about this I will hire you in a heart to run the ranch security force so old John can sleep in a bit more often, we all looked at poor old John who was just finishing putting the last round thru a hole in the center mass of the target 50 rounds thru a 3” hole at 25 yards with a gun he never shot before, yes poor old John sure needed more sleep.

Jim said he would take the job but wanted a shot at tossing the old fart outta office and then cleaning the place of dead wood, Jade and Jody both got the light in the air over the head look I’ve seen them do so much.

John came back in and he and Jim went back up stairs, we went over to the lounge that John had built for his better customers and getting a hand full of beers sat down at the table, John came back down, and said ok, Jims safe away and it worked smooth I told him in a few days come back and pick up his new gun and thanks for the business.

Jody laid it out as Jim had with Jade adding in a lot more from her notes, John and I sat there red faced and quiet until John said,  I was a cop for over 15  years and never took a penny of payoff,  I did accept a free cup of coffee at one café but the owner was a good friend, he looked at me and I just nodded and said same story, but we were pissed that these scum bags were using a nice honest young cop like a pimp uses women.

We finished those beers and Jody beat Jade to getting more, I looked at her but she was looking down at her notes and then looked around and said, this is good, this is the best break we could hope for, as usual we just stayed quiet and let her get to it in her own sweet way, which turned out to be scary coming from my sweet little wife.

She said well first thing we do is get all their names and pictures then we get those to Song, Jody sat still while I choked on my beer, and without thinking I blurted out the no way in hell were we getting involved in getting them to have accidents…when Jody and John stopped laughing and Jade quiet glaring I said “WHAT!!”

Jody held up his hand and wiggled it at Jade who had to stop glaring at me but did so, she sat a moment and said, look, we knew this County commission was dirty, as well as the Sheriff ( We did? Hell  I didn’t) and this is a perfect way to take over this whole county, clean it up and turn it into just what we need when the SHTF!

More come on hand wiggles from Jody and she was off again, first we get Song into their pockets and bed rooms, all of them including Jim who we will make sure is squeaky clean.

While they are trying to do us, we will be doing them. Jim will be a shoo in for  Sheriff and we can hand pick honest people to run for the other offices, and weed out all the kin folks who have been sucking off the county tit for so long.

Well I sat and listened to this stranger who was taking over my wife’s body, where was the charming, sweet, pie stealing coffee chugging doll that loves me??

Jody sat just watching the show, then looked at me and john,  John shrugged and said hell I go with the kid’s idea on just snuffing the sleeze bags.

Jade chimed in with an agreement to that too, but said well yes , but we can’t, we need their outta work, flat busted , going to jail asses  for all to see and then to see how wonderful the county looks shortly afterwards… I was just lost, I had been here 10 years and didn’t know the whole county court house was a gang of crooks as well as the Sheriffs office.

Jade said she would get Song on it right away and we should have something going on before long so we called it a night, cleaned up the lounge and went home.

Jody said he wanted to head for bed to think and would see us for breakfast, Jade and I headed for bed too, me with a million questions, her with a quiet look on her face, we decide to wait for morning also, sleep came fast.

The next morning as soon as Jade and I came upstairs Jody said lets get breakfast going, I plan to have a meeting this morning, here in the house, Jade started the meal while I set the table then went for the big 35 cup coffee maker, Jody was on the phone calling those he felt needed to be there.

Shortly after the dish’s were washed and put away, the big coffee pot making its last gurgling sounds the others started arriving.

Ellen was the first causing Jade to smile at me ,  who looked at her with not a clue, then John and Bob , Mary would be along in a bit as soon as the store crew showed up.

This group had become the “committee” as it were, Jody believed the more people thinking on a problem the better.

Jody stood up and addressed the group, “As most of you know we had a visitor last night and as soon as Mary gets here I will explain  it better, which was when they heard Mary drive up, she came in and grabbed a cup and sat down .

Jody nodded to John who sat a small tape player on the table and hit play, they all then heard the meeting from last night with Jim the Deputy, even those who were there sat spell bound and listened to the mess unfold, tape done John clicked the player off and Jody looked around the room and said , ok, this could be a problem but I choose to think of it as an opportunity.

He went on to explain that since their long range plan was to change the powers that be in the county with honest people who would work to make this a very safe and well organized place to be anytime , but for sure after an “event”.

He then asked what the group thought about it so far. Ellen said she had no idea, that she had spent so many years buried in books and study’s that she was lucky to know who the president was, which got a laugh.

John with his LEO back ground spoke up next and said that he always believed in hit first and hardest, Jody looked at me , I nodded at John and said “ what he said”, Mary and Jade both remained quiet for the moment.

After waiting a moment Jody said ok, here’s what I spent half the night thinking on, While we know we haven’t broken any laws , the crooked leaders of the county commission seem to think if they are crooked then everybody else is too. So I think just what John said, attack first and hardest, and the way to do that is to start with the records in the courthouse, all the records pertaining to money, all moneys collected as tax’s, from fines, from grants to the  County from the Feds, every dime coming in and going out, from whom to whom , and I bet it will throw a match into a keg of powder.

The way Jody saw it was to hire a big law firm to file freedom of information act papers at the county offices along with a court order preventing any of those records being removed from the building, this had everybody sitting with big smiles on their faces.

Sam asked if they needed to be turned down on seeing the books before filing, Jody said he was going over there the next day to start that ball rolling, whereas John and I both said not alone your not which ended the argument from Jody who agreed they should all three go but in different rigs and to wonder into the courthouse separately.

Then Ellen sorta dropped a small bomb into the mix by asking that if this was a “head em off at the pass “ sorta thing wasn’t Jody doing what he said going to show the Sheriff and the other county rats where the source of their problems was coming from?

This stopped the meeting for a few minutes while Jody looked at her so long the red started creeping up her neck, he then smiled and said damnit Ellen, you’re not just a pretty face  ! bringing out a bigger blush along with laughs from the others , it took me a few more seconds of looking at my wife and Mary to figure out just what was going on, when I looked right at Jade she smiled and made a silent DUH face at me… Jody had not a clue, I almost felt sorry for him…almost..

It was then decided that  they needed an outsider to start it moving but somebody who wasn’t known and yet would be willing to do it , Mary spoke up and said to Bob, Your cousin Bill !

Bob looked at her and grinned big and high fived her then told the others about his Cousin who was a Freelance Journalist who loved muck racking and hated crooked office holders, and who wasn’t scared of anything after three combat tours in Nam and then going back as a Freelancer civilian for another 2 years.

John agreed to head for DFW right away to meet with Bill and let him hear the tape and decided if he wanted in, Jody said he would ride along and talk to a Law Firm he knew of about handling the paper work attack, they left within 30 minutes, Mary and Jade headed to the  store while Ellen headed to the clinic,

John looked at Sam and said come on Sam lets go to the range and burn some powder, you ain’t fired a shot since we opened it.

At the range Sam was surprised to see a lot of cars and trucks parked in the dirt lot and a bunch of guys talking or watching others shooting, After introducing Sam to some folks he didn’t know they headed to the office where John signed them in and the young man behind the  counter asked what they were shooting, John said they would be down on the pistol range shooting steel, after a short drive thru the trees they came to a small clearing with several racks of steel plates and a covered roof and tables for gun bags and gear.

Bob asked Sam what he had brought to shoot and Sam pulled his shirt up and showed a 1911 commander ,Bob was also carrying a 1911 but full sized, they both laughed and taking their bags of gear went to the line and laying out their ammo and ear protectors, They decided to start at the 10 yard line with one holding the timer for the other and writing down the times as they shot, Bob explained that by looking at the run times one can see improvement or lack of it.

Shooting steel plates is a very simple way to practice, the plates are usually  a round plate about 8” in diam. When hit they  fall  back , with six plates to the rack when you were done you pull a rope and it pulled a lever which set up the plates for the next shooter, it was fast and simple, if hit the plate fell, if missed it sat there glaring at you. The shooter faces the rack and when the RO ( range Officer) says “Shooter Ready?”  the shooter nods and the timer button is pushed there are controls for instant beep or delayed beep, delayed prevents the person from knowing when it’s coming.